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New immigration rules for temporary migrant workers will not be “amnesty lite,” an official has said.
On Thursday, the US Department of Labor announced the creation of the Office of Immigration Policy, which is designed to streamline the application process for visas for migrant workers.
“Today, @USDOL took action to ensure taxpayer-funded workforce services are reserved for American workers — not illegal immigrants,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer wrote Thursday on X, announcing the new office.
An administration official brushed off concerns that the new office would be offering amnesty by the back door for illegals already in the US.
“This is not amnesty. It’s not amnesty lite,” a senior administration official told Axios.
“No one who is illegally here is being given a pathway to citizenship or residency.”
Under the new rules, new visa recipients would have to have their paperwork completed in their home country before coming to the US legally.
In recent weeks, especially after the passing of Trump’s signature “Big Beautiful Bill,” which provides over $100 billion towards immigration enforcement, there have been fears of a general amnesty for workers in industries like agriculture that rely heavily on illegal labor.
President Trump himself has flirted with the idea of special exemptions from immigration enforcement against illegals in specific industries, and has come under pressure from members of his own party, including Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
After a series of high-profile raids on farms at the beginning of last month, the President said on social media that he wanted to focus raids on “criminals” rather than illegals who are working and contributing to the economy.
It’s been estimated that as many as 70% of workers have left some farms after ICE stepped up enforcement and began farm raids.
The President has denied, however, that he wants an amnesty.
